In a masterful exhibition of prescience, well known to followers of this site, awesome site author Rexswimguy pre-informed us of the importance of Indiana player Zander Diamont. Diamont, son of a soap opera star, made the last minute touchdown to launch Indiana over Purdue (23-16) in the Old Oaken Bucket Rivalry Game, a Hoosier Thanksgiving Tradition.

The Indianapolis Star reports that such a "victory would have been improbable seven days ago, much less seven weeks ago." Improbable to all but fans of Rexswimguy, who are well used to having their water cooler conversation informed by his insightful posts. Indiana had a long losing streak against B1G opponents, making this their first Big 10 win of the year.... this was their first Big 10 win since last year's big rivalry game. Indiana won the Old Oaken Bucket trophy for two years in a row for the first time in two decades against the Purdue Boilermakers, who always fight hard in this signature rivalry, both teams' season ender for almost a century.

The Indianpolis Star again reported that "Zander Diamont, a freshman, transformed from third-string afterthought into a quarterback who took the Hoosiers on a 65-yard scoring drive in the closing two minutes to win the game." The winning touchdown was made with 27 seconds left, and despite great efforts for a last second touchdown by Purdue, who led or were tied the entire game until that point, the clock ran out.

This weekend saw many rivalries contested, and many unusual trophies exchanged. The Old Oaken Bucket, while certainly a long-standing tradition, has only been around since 1925. Each year a metal I or P is joined to a chain attached to the handle. Hanging from the handle are both an I and a P, representing a tie game which was the first in the series. Purdue leads the all-time series 72–38–6

Congratulations to Zander and Indiana for their big win.

In honor of our own champion, Rexswimguy, prognosticator extraordinaire, we'll close with the last lines of Samuel Wordsworth's poem, dear to the hearts of Hoosiers worldwide:

How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view!

The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood...

...And sighs for the bucket that hangs in the well The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,The moss-covered bucket that hangs in the well!

For most teams, this is the last week of the NCAA Football regular season, and that means lots of "rivalry" games on tap. Note, however, that today's schedule is endless, so you do need to prioritize your time accordingly!

And, we hate to say goodbye to the teams that are not bowl-eligible and will not be moving on to the post-season after today. But, there's always next year! For example, first-year quarterback #12 Zander Diamont of Indiana, whom we definitely hope to see in action again next year.

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Name: Zander Diamont

Date of Birth: February 16, 1995 (Aquarius)

Hometown: Los Angeles, California, USA

Height/Weight: 6'1"/175 lbs

Team: Indiana Hoosiers

Position: Quarterback

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Note that, in the off-season, we can follow Zander's budding modeling career too. (!)